Hotels are returning to Yandex Travel, but not all

The conflict between Russian hotels and Yandex Travel continued due to the increase in fees. Some of the major networks began to return to the platform after the negotiations. However, there was no complete reconciliation — some hotels still refuse to cooperate and warn of the risk of dependence on the aggregator.

The conflict entered an acute phase after the new tariffs of the service came into force on February 1. The commission that Yandex Travel charges for attracting customers has increased from 15% to 17%. In response, representatives of the hotels first made an appeal, offering to return the previous conditions, and after Yandex Travel refused, they began to curtail cooperation. Among them were Azimut Hotels, Cosmos Hotel Group, Mantera Group, Alean Collection, Russian Seasons, Accor and others.

Despite the decision of the hoteliers, even then experts assumed that the parties would come to an agreement. Hotels need YAP as a supplier of customers (according to Travelline, it now leads the top channels of individual bookings. — Editor's note.). The aggregator, in turn, is interested in making its product range as complete as possible.

At first glance, the forecast was justified. On April 22, a press release appeared stating that Yandex Travel, PCT and the hotel industry "agreed on measures to support hotels." Judging by the text, the aggregator has made some concessions. Hotels that opened after January 1, 2025, will receive a reduced commission. However, only for a while: in the first year, the aggregator's services will cost them 15%, and in the second — 16%. In addition, Yandex Travel partially compensates hotels for using paid promotion tools on its platform. In addition, the parties agreed to develop an accessible environment in hotels.

At the same time, Evgeny Abramzon, head of the Yandex Travel service, mentioned in his comment that other steps may follow: "This is just the first step of our comprehensive support program."

PCT President Ilya Umansky said that an additional result of the negotiations was the return of previously disconnected hotel networks to Yandex Travel. Indeed, the heads of at least two major networks have already made conciliatory statements.

"Cosmos Hotel Group returns the network's facilities to the Yandex Travel platform. As a result of the dialogue, the parties managed to work out a balanced solution that takes into account the interests of both companies," said Alexander Biba, President of Cosmos Hotel Group.

Azimut told us that in the near future, more than 70 network facilities will be introduced to the service again. According to CEO Maxim Brodovsky, this was the result of a decision that takes into account the interests of both hoteliers and the platform.

However, not everyone has returned to Yandex. For example, as of April 24, no Mantera and Russian Seasons network objects were found on the service. And the hotels from the Accor and Radisson groups were only partially represented.

"Most likely, the scenario of individual agreements was realized, and Yandex made partial concessions to everyone, as well as some confidential ones with those who left. I'm sure not everyone will come back. The fact that OTA may have different conditions for different chains and hotels is normal. It depends on the negotiating position in each individual case," Yakov Adamov, an independent expert on the hotel market, commented on the situation.

Russian Seasons confirmed that they have no plans to return. As explained by the Commercial director Inna Ryndina, cooperation with the aggregator has a downside — it will lock in search traffic, which means it will attract customers. In this case, the effectiveness of your own sales is reduced, as "strength and power "Yandex "do not interrupt". It turns out that it will cost more to attract customers.

This may be justified for urban sites, especially those with a poor location, as it is difficult for them to move forward on their own. However, according to Inna Ryndina, hotels with developed infrastructure need to act differently: develop their own distribution and respond in time to the needs of a changing market. Otherwise, hoteliers can repeat the scenario that has already been implemented in a taxi. Controlling traffic and dominating (96% of orders in Moscow, according to RBC, account for Yandex Go. — Editor's note.), the aggregator affects drivers' working conditions and pricing.

Other experts agree with this opinion. When I worked in Russia Booking.com He controlled about 80% of individual bookings, and his commission reached 35%. Therefore, nothing prevents the new leader from raising his tariffs in the future. One of the editors' interlocutors believes that hoteliers were too quick to return to Yandex Travel:

"They shouldn't have broken down. In five to seven years, we will see commissions of 25-30%"

— Independent expert

The conflict has shown that a compromise is possible, but the main question of whether the market is ready to put up with such aggregator tariffs remains open, and a new round of confrontation is possible in the future.

It remains to add that the increase in booking fees directly affects the cost of rooms, as hotels will have to include costs in the price. The problem is that hotels can no longer raise rates indefinitely. According to analysts and hoteliers themselves, the "fast money period" in domestic tourism is over. The market is slowing down, which means that competition for tourists' wallets will increase.

Source: TourDom.ru